The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 36 – The Forwards

Following yesterday’s rundown of the favoured midfielders for the final three Gameweeks of the season, our attention turns to the forwards who could make a late difference. Olivier Giroud holds off the strong challenge of Christian Benteke thanks to Arsenal’s double Gameweek 37, while Harry Kane’s stock continues to plummet ahead of a trip to Stoke.

Despite registering a third successive blank in Arsenal’s 3-1 win at Hull, Olivier Giroud keeps his place at the summit by virtue of the Gunners run-in (SWA, mun/SUN, WBA), which ranks as the strongest according to our Season Ticker. The French international has managed six shots from inside the box in his last four appearances, less than Sergio Aguero (15), Christian Benteke (11) and Harry Kane (eight), which is a concern, but with Arsene Wenger’s side in sparkling form, the 8.7-priced forward should get the service he needs to return to form over the final three Gameweeks.

With ten goals in his last eight league outings, it’s little surprise Christian Benteke leads the transfers this week with over 80,000 new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners. Aston Villa’s favourable fixtures (WHM, sot, BUR) also boost the Belgian’s prospects, so coming in at just 7.8 in FPL, Benteke may force a place into our transfer strategies, in spite of Arsenal’s double Gameweek 37 strengthening the Gunners’ case for our immediate attention.

One forward who looks entrenched in many of our three-man frontlines is Sergio Aguero. The Argentine has bagged five goals in his last four appearances, and is unsurprisingly the clear leader in this week’s Captain Poll, with 53% of the vote ahead of City’s home clash against QPR. With a trip to Swansea and a home encounter against Southampton to finish the season, the former Atletico Madrid striker is the firm favourite to secure this season’s Golden Boot, currently lying two goals ahead of his nearest challenger, Harry Kane.

Everton’s Romelu Lukaku jumps up our ladder thanks to the Toffees favourable run-in (SUN, whm, TOT). The 8.7-valued forward scored his ninth league goal of the season in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa last time out, and while his underlying stats aren’t very encouraging, having only managed three shots from inside the box in his last four matches, he could be worth some consideration as a differential, given the friendly schedule.

Harry Kane slips down to fifth in our latest update, having scored just once in his last five appearances. The Tottenham forward did register six goal attempts, two from inside the box in the 1-0 defeat to City, but with two of Spurs final three matches (sto, HUL, eve) on the road, it’s not surprising that over 21,000 FPL managers have transferred him out this week, seeing his price fall to 6.4.

Although he failed to register attacking points in Sunderland’s 2-1 win against Southampton, Connor Wickham remains a viable budget option for the final few weeks of the season. His prospects are boosted with the Black Cats playing four matches (eve, LEI/ars, che) in the final three weeks of the season, thanks to a double in Gameweek 37. It is a slight concern that the former Ipswich man was shifted to a position on the left of a front three against the Saints, with Danny Graham playing centrally, but with two goals in his last three starts, the 5.6-rated forward looks the strongest option if you want to invest in Sunderland attacking coverage for the double.

Following his brace against Newcastle, Leonardo Ulloa replaces Jamie Vardy as our preferred Leicester option. There isn’t much to choose between the pair, with Vardy having the slightest of edges in terms of shots inside the box with nine compared to eight for the Argentinian over the last four matches. With penalty duties in the locker and with Nigel Pearson’s side looking such a threat from set pieces in the last month, Ulloa gets the nod ahead of three more favourable fixtures (SOT, sun, QPR) for the Foxes.

Despite only scoring twice in his last seven league outings, Dame N’Doye remains on the Watchlist thanks to his impressive underlying stats. The 5.5-priced forward has managed nine shots from inside the box in his last four starts, and with Steve Bruce’s men fighting for their lives down at the bottom, the onus will be on the Senegal international in their final three matches (BUR, tot, MUN) to score the goals that will secure their Premier League status.

Southampton’s Graziano Pelle falls a couple of places this time around after again failing to find the net away from St Mary’s in the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland. His stats remain impressive, attempting ten shots from inside the box in his last four appearances, but with Ronald Koeman’s side stuttering towards the finishing line, there simply looks to be better options out there than the 7.5-valued Italian, particularly with two of the Saints final three encounters (lei, AVL, mci) on the road.

Having completed his seven-match ban, Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse creeps into our final spot. His selection here is something of a gamble, given he will be short of match fitness having not played since March 4 and only looks likely to feature on the bench this weekend after resuming training last week following treatment on a knee injury. With three favourable fixtures (WBA, qpr, WHM), remaining the Senegal international, who is now down to 5.2 in FPL, could be worth a punt given he has found the net 11 times in just 18 appearances this season.